A 242-page spiral-bound book contains the proposal to Amazon for why it should put its second headquarters in Detroit.

Details of talent plan revealed

Involves scholarships, apprenticeships, child care

Addresses growing shortage of IT workers

The "Marshall Plan for Talent" Gov. Rick Snyder plans to begin pitching to lawmakers next month is expected to include a new state scholarship for computer science higher education, apprenticeships for information technology jobs and piloting a child care service for IT workers in Detroit and the suburbs, Crain's has learned.

Approximately $95 million of the $120 million in talent-development Snyder pledged to support in Detroit's bid for Amazon's second headquarters was detailed in a eight-page plan the governor's office sent city officials in October as part of the Amazon bid.

Crain's obtained the document from the city of Detroit through a Freedom of Information Act request and confirmed with Snyder administration sources that the specific programs pitched to Amazon will be part of the governor's overarching proposal to legislators for addressing a growing shortage of IT workers.

$15 million for a new Michigan IT & Computer Science Promise scholarship to provide up to $750 per year for two years in "last dollar tuition assistance" for students enrolled in a computer science or IT credential program.

$15 million for capital construction and operating expenses of four child care facilities for children of IT workers, with a main facility being located in downtown Detroit and the other three "in surrounding communities." The state funding would be used to subsidize the cost of child care for IT workers.

$15 million in curriculum development grants for colleges and universities to "position Michigan as a leader in talent development for the IT industry."

$15 million in one-time grants for high schools, community colleges and universities for capital costs associated with adding more computer science and IT classes.

$10 million for creation of IT job apprenticeship programs that specifically target veterans, women, racial minorities as well as underemployed workers and structurally unemployed individuals.

$10 million for training K-12 teachers to teach computer science and IT courses.

$10 million for marketing campaigns to woo "university and community college students in Michigan and target-rich Midwest markets to tout the benefits of staying and putting their talents to work here in the new, reinvented Michigan." The funding also would be used for advertising IT career options to high school juniors and seniors.

$5 million in grants for expanding existing programs through the Michigan Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, modeled after the robot-building FIRST Robotics competitions high school students participate in.

Snyder will present legislators with his final budget request next month and funding the initiatives spelled out in the proposal submitted to Amazon are expected to be a cornerstone of the business-oriented governor's spending plan.

"Several of the components in the Amazon bid for Detroit are relevant to the governor's idea for a Marshall Plan for Talent, and are important to help lead the state's workforce into the future whether Amazon builds HQ2 here or not," Snyder spokesman Ari Adler said. "We need to invest in our workforce and Gov. Snyder plans on doing that however possible, and convincing others in the public and private sector to do so, as well."

Crain'sfirst reported Dec. 20 that Detroit's response to Amazon's request for proposals for a second headquarters included a state commitment from Snyder of $120 million to expand the state's tech workforce.

"As part of the Amazon HQ2 proposal, the state is launching a comprehensive set of 10 complementary programs designed to meet the workforce needs of tech companies," the summary document says. "This suite of programs — which will bolster STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and increase the number of tech graduates in Michigan — cover a spectrum from K-12 through post-secondary to life-long learning/continuing education."

The governor's spokesman told Crain's last month that $95 million is initially needed — a budget request that is subject to approval by the Legislature.

Snyder's detailed talent-development plan was included as an addendum to Detroit's nine-page response to Amazon's request for proposals, according to sources involved in crafting the proposal.

Those documents were attached to a 242-page sales-pitch book businessman Dan Gilbert's companies produced for Amazon executives showcasing metro Detroit and Windsor's quality of life amenities, access to talent, increased mass transit options and real estate options on both sides of the Detroit River. Gilbert chaired the Amazon bid committee and used the pitch to offer a reimagined downtown with new office buildings lining the riverfront and other under-developed tracts of the center city.

Snyder has been publicly talking about the need for a "Marshall Plan for Talent" since at least late September when he used that term in an on-stage interview at the Michigan Republican Party's biennial leadership conference on Mackinac Island.

The original Marshall Plan was the multibillion-dollar program conceived by Gen. George Marshall to help rebuild Europe after World War II.

The governor has signaled that Michigan's education system needs a targeted set of programs to address shortages in talent for careers in IT, coding and computer-driven advanced manufacturing.

In early October, Snyder said he would pursue a new state-funded career and technical training program as part of the Amazon pitch in lieu of asking lawmakers for creating more tax incentives beyond what current law already allow the state to offer.

"Let's look at Amazon as an opportunity to highlight our need to get more IT people, more logistics people, many of these fields and create a Marshall Plan to say how do we ratchet up that number in terms of young people and people looking for a great career to get into these fields much faster," Snyder said Oct. 6 after a "Manufacturing Day" event in Detroit.

The governor's spokesman said the plan submitted to city officials as part of the Amazon HQ2 bid was done in collaboration with educators and business leaders and is still to be refined before Snyder rolls it out in detailed policy proposals.

Snyder gives his final State of the State address to the Legislature on Jan. 23. His annual budget presentation to lawmakers is expected to occur in early February.

"You will hear more about (it)," Adler told Crain's. "... As we look forward, the idea is how do you get government, business and the education community working in harmony to create a workforce for the future. Everybody has to be on board if this is going to work."